José Manuel Sánchez Ramírez, Victoria Iñigo, Beatriz Marcano and Carmen Romero-García
The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of a training programme for developing employability skills, including digital competency and soft skills (problem-solving…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of a training programme for developing employability skills, including digital competency and soft skills (problem-solving, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, decision-making and creativity), in professional-training programmes.
Design/methodology/approach
It presents a case study where students from a professional training centre were evaluated twice, before and after doing the programme. The results from both were compared to determine whether there have been improvements. We also analysed whether there were differences by gender in the pretest and the posttest.
Findings
We observed that most of the students improved in both digital competency and in soft skills after completing the programme. In the case of digital competency, greater improvement was apparent in the areas of collaboration and communication and in digital content creation. Similar results were found for all competencies in the case of soft skills.
Originality/value
This learning programme had a positive impact on the competency development of professional-training students. Continuous training and advice for teachers and personalized monitoring during the implementation of this programme resulted in an apparent improvement in students’ employability skills.
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David Lain, Kari Hadjivassiliou, Antonio Corral Alza, Iñigo Isusi, Jacqueline O’Reilly, Victoria Richards and Sue Will
This paper aims to evaluate internships in terms of governance structures. Internships are being promoted as a European Union policy lever to address high youth unemployment…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate internships in terms of governance structures. Internships are being promoted as a European Union policy lever to address high youth unemployment. However, concerns exist that internships often have few developmental opportunities and poor employment outcomes, something this conceptual paper examines.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop a conceptual framework for distinguishing between different types of internships based on “dimensions of governance” (contract, agreed duration and partnership). A distinction is made between “open market”, “educational” and “active labour market policy” internships, drawing on examples and evidence from Spain and Portugal.
Findings
The authors argue that “governed” internships, linked to educational programmes or genuine active labour market policies, are much more likely to have beneficial outcomes than “open market internships”. This is because they provide the positive governance conditions relating to contract, duration and partnership arrangements under which employers, interns and third parties understand how they can benefit from the internship and what their responsibilities are.
Research limitations/implications
The strength of the paper lies in outlining an analytical framework for future research. The evidence presented from Spain and Portugal provides support for the conceptual framework; future comparative internship research should further test the propositions made across a range of countries and contexts.
Social implications
By increasing understanding of internship governance, employers, policymakers and educationalists will be in a better position to design successful internships.
Originality/value
The paper broadens the focus beyond educational internships alone and proposes a conceptual framework for future research.
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R F Vollans writes:Nothing pleases me more than to see honours bestowed on those who are worthy of them, particularly if they are my close friends and personal colleagues. It was…
Abstract
R F Vollans writes:Nothing pleases me more than to see honours bestowed on those who are worthy of them, particularly if they are my close friends and personal colleagues. It was, therefore, with some delight that I read of the LA'S new awards—the McColvin and Besterman Medals.
NOT MANY authors are spared long enough to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their first ‘bestseller’ but last month J B Priestley could sit back and reflect upon the huge…
Abstract
NOT MANY authors are spared long enough to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their first ‘bestseller’ but last month J B Priestley could sit back and reflect upon the huge success of his picaresque novel, The good companions, first published 22nd July 1929. At first it achieved a modest but steady sale, seven thousand five hundred copies were sold by the end of the month, but from then onwards it took off in no uncertain fashion; at the height of the Christmas season his publishers, who had tentatively printed ten thousand copies originally, were sending out some five thousand a day. A year after publication it was still selling over one thousand copies a week at half a guinea a time. No wonder Priestley himself described it thirty years later as ‘this giant jackpot, this golden gusher, this genie out of the bottle’.
HIGH ABOVE THE HOTELS and bed‐sitters of London's Earl's Court district towers the Ministry of Defence's twenty‐eight storey Empress State Building. On the twenty‐fifth floor of…
Abstract
HIGH ABOVE THE HOTELS and bed‐sitters of London's Earl's Court district towers the Ministry of Defence's twenty‐eight storey Empress State Building. On the twenty‐fifth floor of this imposing edifice is housed the largest and finest naval library in the world. It comprises more than a hundred and twenty‐five thousand books, over a hundred thousand pamphlets, a magnificent collection of charts and atlases, and some four‐hundred‐odd manuscripts. The whole collection is probably worth more than £1 million.
Ronald H. Humphrey, Neal M. Ashkanasy and Ashlea C. Troth
Purpose: This introduction sets the stage for the book theme, “Emotions and Negativity,” by reviewing the early work on negative emotions and by discussing the impact of the COVID…
Abstract
Purpose: This introduction sets the stage for the book theme, “Emotions and Negativity,” by reviewing the early work on negative emotions and by discussing the impact of the COVID pandemic on people’s moods and emotions. It discusses how most of the chapters in this book were first presented as conference papers at the Twelfth International Conference on Emotions and Worklife (“Emonet XII”). It then highlights the key contributions from each of the chapters. Study Design/Methodology/Approach: This gives an overview of the organizational structure of the book and explains the four major parts of the book. It then relates each chapter to the theme of each part and discusses the key contributions of each chapter. Findings: The introduction concludes by observing that the chapters offer a variety of practical solutions to negative emotions that should be of use to both practitioners and academicians. Originality/Value: The chapters investigate underresearched topics, and thus make original and important new contributions. Although underresearched, the topics they explore have a major impact on people’s lives. Thus, these chapters add considerable value to the field.
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This is the eighth article in the series concerned with small urban spaces and deals with the special problems and unique controls which affect squares and similar open spaces in…
Abstract
This is the eighth article in the series concerned with small urban spaces and deals with the special problems and unique controls which affect squares and similar open spaces in London.
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To provide a list of non‐fictional books, as published, for the use of Librarians and Book‐buyers generally, arranged so as to serve as a continuous catalogue of new books; an aid…
Abstract
To provide a list of non‐fictional books, as published, for the use of Librarians and Book‐buyers generally, arranged so as to serve as a continuous catalogue of new books; an aid to exact classification and annotation ; and a select list of new books proposed to be purchased. Novels, school books, ordinary reprints and strictly official publications will not be included in the meantime.